The US Department of Homeland Security has joined forces with the most relentless and observant patrol force available in the US - Walmart shoppers.
The Washington anti-terror agency will call on the cut-price chain's army of aisle-plodding bargain spotters to apply those same skills to spotting the enemies of the United States …

Oh, well....

You start with 1937

17th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Nuff said. Me Coat. The one with the obituary of my great grandad, two of his sons and most of the rest of his family who were shot shortly thereafter as they did not fit the "find the enemy" message broadcasted via public broadcast systems in shops, squares, schools and public transport.

"Welcome, to City 17..."

Not broken...

Unlike most of Western Europe where the government watches one from an army of cctv cameras or the government has a built in spy network from when the 'wall' came down.

We have to rely on the ordinary guy in the small town wal marts watching out for something that has changed. People notice this. You know like strangers in a Southern town and when you stop of gas, Bubba says ... "... you aint from around here boy, are ya?..." (And yes, I've heard that one along with some of my friends... )

Unfortunately, it is for this same reason we fear the 'homegrown' terrorist more that an enemy combatant. They know the language, idioms, customs, etc ... They can blend in better.

(Its true of any country).

And yes, we are in deep shit. we're facing a group of people who don't value human life, and want to kill you simply because you don't believe in the same thing they do.

Welcome to the shit bucket we call humanity.

Oh and BTW, relying on human nature... much cheaper than cctv cameras and building up an internal spy/police network ... ;-)

Hot Fuzz ?

Sad

"it's a place where you sometimes see your neighbor the most"

If that's true then this is quite sad. Unless, of course, you are on a farm and are hundreds of metres away from your neighbour. Hang on, if you own a big farm, you are rich - why on earth would you be shopping at Walmart ?

You may not have a choice

If you really do live out in the country you might not have much choice as to where to shop. WalMart has driven most small town stores out of business. Quite often your choice is WalMart or a very long drive. Welcome to the USA.

"If you own a big farm, you are rich"

If you live in the US and you own the kind of farm you're thinking of -- that is, one where the livestock don't spend their entire existence in battery cages -- then you're poorer than dirt, in fact. That's how backwards we've allowed ourselves to become.

The ones in the UK seem to be laughed at.

At least that is my experience of hearing the "DOES YOUR NEIGHBOUR LOOK FOREIGH AND HAVE TWO PHONES!?!?!?!" in a local shop -- the customers and shopkeeper seem to chuckle a bit and say things like "bloody scaremongering" and "oh, shit I'm a terrorist".

Then again -- looking on a website which I am assured shows what the People Of Walmart look like the customers of the store does seem to include some of the local militia as well as a few super heroes (well, at least I think that's why they wear tight costumes and/or their underwear on the outside).

I was reminded of that site as well

It does seem apt, somehow (NSFSanity): www.peopleofwalmart.com

Mob rule? DHS knows who to appeal to.

And indeed, this has nothing to do with actual security at all, but with yet again "engaging" the public with their message of terror. The obvious conclusion, therefore, is that they're as bad as the TSA and the free world (including non-stupid America, what little there's left of it) would be much better off without either.

Sad...

Shop your neighbours for fabulous prizes!

profit margin

Back in the day there were poster all over the UK advising how crime was costing each household X amount. The reward for 'information leading to conviction' was 2X and it was not long before every poster had been updated with the slogan of 'Make a profit and turn yourself in'

What's next?

What's next ?

The USA already carries out summary executions

Pretty much every week the US will kill one or more people who are identified in secret as being "enemies" of the state. They might be taken out by snipers, kidnapped up close and personal then sent to UnpronouncableStan to be tortured and killed (but not by US or UK forces of course) or just fragged along with their neighbours and a nearby school or wedding by a reaper drone.

The only difference here is that the public are now being invited to join the Department of Fatherland Security in spreading the terror that Bin Laden wanted. Congratulations to the DHS, Mission Accomplished guys, the terrorists have officially won.

eh

Agree?

@Pirate Dave

What do you mean "agree"? Walmart has -always- played up the patriot angle, just like they've always played up the 'quality' and 'value' angles--all of which are approximately equal, when you think about it.

So there's zero surprise here that they'd buy in to the whole Homeland Security angle. Hell, they'll probably start advertising it--half the TSA drones would otherwise work at Walmart anyway; it's one of the only other places you can get a job without a degree these days.

not disagreeing with you

my only surprise was that Walmart would do it with no obvious (to me, anyhow) profit motive. I thought they were all about the mighty dollar, and any "patriotic" sense is nothing but marketing whitewash. After all, 90+% of the non-grocery stuff on their shelves is made in SE Asia. Hell, China probably gets more economic growth from Walmart than we do.

@Pirate Dave

Well, that's the kind of crap that happens when easily led sheeple buy into demonizing a company "because they drive all the mom and pop shops out of business" or "drive wages down."

I was pleased as punch when a Walmart opened not far from where I lived. Prices at the local price gougers suddenly plummeted because there was an honest vendor on the street. But after all the demonizing I now avoid it because service has gone to shit. They use to have a cashier at every register, these days you're luck if half of them are operational (including self-checkout). All that happened since the Marxists/Communist/Progressives successfully demonized a good company.

You may have missed a clue.

So - Walmart came to town and they were really good for a while, and all the other businesses disappeared. Then with only Walmart left, they went to crap - but you were stuck with them because they were the only game left in town.

No, it all happened because that's the Wal Mart Way:

Step 1: Announce intent to move to a municipality in region X.

Step 2: Sit back and watch municipalities in region X compete with each other on how much "incentive" (discount land, tax breaks, you name it) they will offer if only WM will bring "jobs" to their community.

Bin Laden/Al Quaeda: 10, Western Democracy: 0

The title says it all.

Just ignore the fuckers. The longer we all live in a state of paranoia the longer the terrorists control the game/war/whatever you prefer to call it.

Two fingers (a la Churchill) to BL/AQ and Walmart who are exploiting sub-average IQ punters. You know the ones... the punters that took out sub-prime mortgages invented by Bill Clinton who ultimately created the cess-pit global economy we are all now paying for.

Except

Walmart and guns

They do sell guns where I live. Which is surprising, but I was just there the other day and saw a few on display. But not as many as down the road where there is a "Fin Feather Fur Outfitters" about 1/2 mile from the Walmart.

So now we should stand by the gun sales dept and watch who buys guns, and report them to the authorities.

DHS videos in stores ?

Why wait ? Put a large screen on a blimp, include 1000W speakers and broadcast continuously over all major US cities.

Include army checkpoints at all entry points of all major cities (already covered by the blimps) in order to ensure proper population control (hello citizen, have you found a terrorist today ?), as well as hourly radio broadcasts and you end up with a country that would make a certain WWII dictator positively green with envy.

which one do you mean

Stalin or Hitler?

Whichever, there are many cold war era leaders (incl. Russian, Chinese, other Asian, etc) who would be salivating at the mere thought of the level of paranoia, control and oversight achieved in this land of the supposedly free in the year 2010.